On April 2nd, thousands of principals will show up in New Orleans for the National Association of Elementary Principals National Conference. Principals from all over the country will be looking for ways to improve their leadership skills, investigate new building innovations, network, and share experiences as they address educational issues and educational questions in their states and schools.

We all know that RTI implementation is a topic on the minds of many principals, and principals at the national conference will come from varied experiences and backgrounds concerning their knowledge and understanding of the process. As I go to the conference, I am very interested in the multiple experiences that principals have had while implementing RTI in their schools. At the national conference I hope to glean some qualitative information from practicing principals.

RTI implementation in a school stretches a principal and his/her staff. Through implementation, principals and staff have to create a whole new "world view" about assessment, instruction, and student achievement. As I go to the conference, I am specifically interested in asking principals about RTI implementation in their school. Here is a short list of some of the questions I have about the principal and RTI implementation:

How you and your school established the RTI Vision

The professional development strategies used to train staff

How the school scheduled for learning

What type of data the school focuses on and how the school staff use data to make programming and instruction decisions

How the school addresses fidelity, the core program, and interventions

What programs are being used at each tier and how many tiers the school has and why

How RTI has impacted teacher beliefs and how RTI changed their instructional delivery

Advice you would give principals considering RTI Implementation

How the assessments used in your school for screening, diagnosis, or progress monitoring have strengthened teaching and learning in your school

If you use RTI for SLD Determination and why you decided to use it at a means for SLD determination

How your staff plans for collaboration around students

During the conference, I will be at the RTI Action Network booth, #907, in the exhibit hall. I invite principals to stop by during the days of the conference and talk with me and the other members of the RTI Action Network team about their RTI implementation experience. Once I return, I will follow-up with a blog about my conversations on the RTINetwork.org website. I know that when we share experiences, we gain knowledge and understanding, so my hope is to share the wealth with those who are implementing and those who are planning to implement RTI in their schools.

Read what others had to say...

Our school has just recently begun implementing some basic principles of Rti. We don't use it solely as our SPED referral process, but use it for interventions. Our state still recognizes and requires the IQ/achievement discrepancy model.
This being said, our school also identified a small leadership team that then presented to the staff. We then began implementing clubs, where intervention students receive extra support in a small group environment and enrichment students are in larger classes. Teachers have selected interesting topics of study for their 'clubs'. The students love it!

Posted By: htaphorn on April 24, 2009 11:33 AM

Important for my school was to choose a group of core teachers to be our leadership team. We call them coaches and have one per grade level. This team has built a good bond and have been essential for the roll-out in our school.
An important piece for my school was to have this team (I am part of) to come up with a long-term plan for the rollout of RTI. It is important to remember that full implementation takes 4-5 years.
A crucial piece of implementation is to have school admin that is dedicated to the fidelity of RTI because there will be bumps in the raod to implementation.

The National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc., is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.